In the far north of Siberia, where the thermometer can read 50 degrees below zero, not even the littlest children are spared the harshness of the climate.
The Nenets have been herding reindeer and moving across the snow for centuries, and they learned something that no modern clothing factory ever taught them: reindeer hide is the only real barrier against that cold. That’s why even babies wear outfits identical to those of their parents, with hoods that frame their faces, hand-sewn mittens, and boots that keep the wind out.
It’s not folklore or a costume. It’s the clothing that allows them to leave the house, follow the reindeer, and remain, generation after generation, one of the few peoples to prevail over the Arctic.